Key quotes from the 5th Astana Economic Forum

5th Astana Economic Forum was held on May 23-24. Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev made several statements before and during the Forum.

Here are some of the quotes from his statements:

NEW SILK WAY

Nursultan Nazarbayev presented a New Silk Way project to the foreign investors at the 25th plenary meeting of Kazakhstan President’s Council of Foreign Investors.

"Kazakhstan has to restore its historical role and become a major business transit hub of the Central Asian region and a bridge between Europe and Asia."

FUTURE OF ALMATY

"Development of business activities and services for foreign citizens in Almaty will help create additional conditions for establishing a tourist hub around the city," Nursultan Nazarbayev said at the 25th plenary meeting of Kazakhstan President’s Council of Foreign Investors.

"Almaty has to become the country’s leader in terms of implementation of the “city of the future” technologies, ensure excellent security level, maintain environmentally friendly development and provide comfort to foreign citizens," Nazarbayev told the foreign investors about the future of Almaty and its role in the New Silk Way project.

"Kazakhstan’s major oil and gas fields at the Caspian Sea and around it are important strategic resources of our people who have built an independent state first time in their history and become a country respected in the world."

G-GLOBAL

Kazakhstan President started his speech at the 5th Astana Economic Forum with the major principles of G-global.

“To get the world constantly moving towards progress, we need to work out compulsory fundamentals of the world order in the 21st century... I am convinced that the world will solve global economy problems and achieve sustainable development only through constructive multipolarity."

"The humanity has reached the ceiling for revolutions and world wars in the last century. Now the human wisdom is in keeping peace, otherwise we will destroy ourselves. Successful renewal of the global architecture can only be evolutionary in the 21st century."

"It is important to shake the whole system of the international relations."

SWEET LOANS AND CRISIS IMMUNITY

Kazakhstan President answered the question about the main lesson that Kazakhstan learnt from the first wave of the crisis.

"We have learnt the lesson that sweet easy loans are a trap and we have to stop living in debt and on loans... I believe we are ready to take our stand in case of any crisis and avoid slowing down and deterioration of the lives of our people."

"A lot of money is being channeled into saving certain national economies and maintaining the balance of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund... each new billion of dollars can cause a billion of new social problems. It is like firefighting with petrol in fire hoses.”

"Science should be the contemporary locomotive capable of solving pressing issues relevant to all countries... I’m deeply convinced that the most constructive way out (of crisis) is through introduction of a common world currency of a new class."